West Point cadet back in Torrington for holidays

Torrington >> After setting out for medical school, Cadet Capt. Brandon J. Moore made a 180 degree turn to study at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Today, he’s a senior, or a firstie as they’re called, looking forward to his future as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army.

Moore’s road into the military was not a typical one. He wasn’t groomed for it and he doesn’t come from a military family. Instead, he chose a military career, and said going to West Point has been the best decision he could have made. While he’s home in Torrington for the Thanksgiving holiday, Moore is conducting recruiting efforts to educate other potential candidates about the school and military life.

Moore, who was raised in Torrington, graduated from Avon Old Farms in 2008. Military service wasn’t on his mind upon graduation. His thoughts were on medical school, and he spent time working at Hartford Hospital.

Moore attended Hamilton College in upstate New York, which is where he took his first international relations class. That was all it took for the college freshman to change his mind - his focus became public policy.

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An internship with U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman was Moore’s first introduction to veterans affairs. One of his responsibilities was to work as a liaison in that department.

“You need a senatorial nomination to get into West Point,” Moore explained. Working in the senator’s office was the first time he seriously thought about going to the military academy.

“I thought this could be interesting,” said Moore.

He applied to West Point, garnering nominations from Lieberman and U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.). He was accepted in 2010, withdrew from Hamilton College that February and entered the academy as a plebe that summer. He spent the months between withdrawing and entering school working with state Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-Goshen.

“It’s definitely not a typical route to West Point,” Moore said with a laugh.

Since he has been home, a portion of his time has been spent recruiting in the first and fifth congressional districts. It may be called recruitment, but Moore said it’s more like providing information to people who want it. There are three types of events including group interviews, one-on-one interviews and high school visits. The first two options are designed to help candidates who are already interested in attending West Point. Moore will answer their specific questions about the application process and about the academy. The high school presentations are general information sessions.

Moore said he enjoys recruiting because it reconnects him with Connecticut.

“Any way I can give back to the academy, I’m more than happy to do that,” said Moore. “I really enjoy talking to these young high school students to see if West Point is the right fit for them.”

According to Moore, the applicant pool in district one is especially competitive. He said there are, “ultra qualified candidates” in that area.

“Overwhelmingly, we’re getting more competitive pools,” said Moore. “Every year we get a new class at West Point that has higher academic statistics, more leadership experience and more varsity athletes that would translate into stronger officers.”

His unusual road into the academy makes Moore uniquely qualified to speak with interested candidates.

“It gives me an ability to relate to them,” said Moore. “About 1 percent of the population has military experience. Most are experiencing the military for the first time. The [information sessions] are helpful. When I was applying in college, I went into it a little blind, which was nerve wracking.”

The military academy’s two main concerns are where a person wants to go into the military and whether they should go into the military, said Moore.

“We never convince people,” he assured.

Moore wasn’t convinced to go to West Point and he said it was the right decision for him. Public policy is his academic interest but he said his new plan is to serve in the aviation sector of the Army. He plans to serve at least eighty years on active duty flying helicopters. He will graduate in May as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. From there he will go through training at Fort Rucker in Alabama.

According to him, attending West Point is, “a great experience because there are a lot of opportunities. You get to meet amazing people and do amazing things.”

About the Author

Kate Hartman works as a writer for Connecticut Magazine and formerly covered the towns of Harwinton, Burlington, New Hartford, Barkhamsted and Canton for The Register Citizen. Reach the author at khartman@registercitizen.com
or follow Kate on Twitter: @CTMagKate.